Chapter 123

"Looks like we got here early."

Shan Ren and Baimu sat at the seat marked on the invitation, flipping through the handbook laid out before them.

It listed the Pokémon and other items to be auctioned—Pokémon were only a portion; most were strange, odd things.

For instance, a champion's signed photo and clothing, a top trainer's Pokémon breeding insights, a premier coordinator's contest techniques, a top breeder's introductory invitation.

Beyond that, it even included jewels or antiques from other regions.

"Does this auction even have a theme?" Baimu found it odd; typical auctions had themes—either selling only Pokémon or only jewels and such.

Here, everything was mixed together.

"Theme? Of course it does." Shan Ren chuckled, pointing at the items in the handbook: "Almost everything here is stolen. Whether Pokémon, antiques, or jewels—they're all stolen or looted. This auction is essentially a fence's clearinghouse for thieves and bandits."

Baimu froze, then turned to look at him, his expression uneasy and doubtful.

Shan Ren, as if unaware of his expression, continued: "The Undercity is great—it hides all the dirt and evil, keeps it out of sight from outsiders, and even if they see it, they can't intervene."

"Some merchants and officials who can't show their faces use white gloves to buy what they want here. Even if the white gloves get caught, they just claim ignorance and secure their status as innocent third parties to walk free."

"But that trick doesn't work every time, does it?" Baimu spoke up. "Unless someone's deliberately letting them go."

Shan Ren turned to glance at him. "Of course. But people who've held high positions for too long hear too many flatteries, see too many servants pretending ignorance, and start thinking everyone else is a fool—climbing onto clouds, acting like gods, no longer of the same species as those around them. People like that… hah."

The cold laugh made Baimu ponder.

He felt Shan Ren was hinting at something, and that sharing this with him seemed like a test—whether it was his imagination, he wasn't sure.

After all, Shan Ren clearly knew everything here was stolen—why bring him to buy Pokémon at this auction?

His anticipation cooled slightly; he turned back to the handbook's list of Pokémon, lost in thought.

Before he could ask.

The other spoke: "If you're not interested in anything here, you might as well leave before the auction starts."

"Huh? Really, it's fine?"

"Of course it's fine. I'm just here to show my face, prove I showed up, to give certain people face."

"... Then let's go."

Baimu said with regret; though the items were tempting, he had no interest in Pokémon of dubious origin.

He was just about to rise.

Suddenly.

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom."

Shan Ren rose slowly, offering an apologetic smile, and walked out of the hall with his Kadabra.

Baimu watched his back, surprised that he brought his Pokémon to the restroom, then glanced around and abandoned the idea of following.

Though in his past life, group trips to the restroom were common at school, he and Shan Ren weren't close enough for that—too forward would be inappropriate.

"I Have a Scroll of Ghost and God Records"

"Stolen goods…"

With nothing else to do, he looked again at the handbook.

The listed Pokémon were like pet shows from his past life—focused on appearance, lineage, pedigree; combat ability and level were secondary.

For example, one Snorlax was noted as being from the same mother as Red's Snorlax from the Johto city of Goldenrod.

There were also descendants of the Four Guardians' Pokémon, offspring of some top trainer Baimu didn't recognize but who was clearly famous, and so on.

Setting aside the authenticity of these claims, the photos displayed certainly showed extraordinary appearances.

A stark contrast to the Eggove he'd once seen in a cage—depressed, disheveled, barely groomed.

And among them.

He believed three Pokémon were most likely to be the clues.

First: a batch of six Dratini, labeled as originating from the Dragon Village in Unova—the hometown of the Black and White Champion, Iris.

Second: an Alakazam said to have been trained by Raihan, the Gym Leader of the Galar Hammerlocke Stadium known as Dragon Storm, and related by blood to the one he currently used.

Third: three adorable Sinistea, descendants of the Alola region's dominant Dragapult.

Yet all three had nearly identical starting prices: six Dratini at twenty million, Alakazam at fifteen million, Sinistea at thirty million!

They'd pushed the hype to the extreme.

Why was Sinistea so expensive?

Because the advertisement claimed there was a chance to breed them into sizes rivaling a Dominant, even manifesting a Dominant aura—

Dream on. This is false advertising taken too far.

A Dominant aura isn't inherited through bloodline.

Baimu knew this was pure nonsense, but what mattered more was which, if any, pointed to the clue.

To be honest.

Once he learned their origins were illicit, his desire to buy vanished—he'd rather go find a normal Pokémon shop; the Undercity had many black markets, but plenty of legitimately imported Pokémon reached the Orre region.

"Forget it."

Baimu shook his head and rose slowly, heading for the restroom.

Shan Ren had been gone over ten minutes; if he hadn't abandoned him here, he was likely pulling off something big or talking to someone.

This man was quite well-known in Huang Tie Town; encountering people wanting to befriend him wasn't surprising.

—

Following the attendant's directions, Baimu walked to the restroom.

Yet he encountered no sign of Shan Ren along the way; all the stall doors were open, and Shan Ren was nowhere to be seen.

Did he leave already?

He didn't think Shan Ren's character would just vanish without a word.

He quickly finished his business, and while washing his hands, suddenly noticed a man wearing a headwrap, with a sand-proof cloth covering half his face, sidling over. After turning on the faucet, the man said something baffling.

"Meteor Village? Ink-Smoke City? Kamito Town?"

"Uh…"

"Wherever you're from, get far away from here as soon as you can. Once something happens, I won't be able to look out for your safety too. And keep that badge tucked away — don't flash it out in the open."

"…"

Baimu didn't reply. The corner of his eye caught the man staring hard at the wooden badge at his waist, and his heart gave an involuntary jolt — he realized the lead he'd been waiting days for had finally come.

He hadn't expected that, after saying all that, the man would simply turn and leave.

He thought it over for a moment, pulled out a Poké Ball and held it in his hand, then hurried after him. But before he'd taken two steps, he'd already drawn the man's attention.

"Tch! You little brat — why won't you listen?"

The man irritably scratched his head, then strode over in long steps and grabbed his arm. "Come with me. This isn't the place to talk."

Baimu let himself be pulled along without a flicker of reaction, using the chance to study the man's appearance closely.

Although his face was hidden behind the veil, judging from his build, his voice, and the bits of skin that were exposed, Baimu guessed the man wasn't very old either — most likely only in his early twenties.

And when the two of them reached a corner and the man lifted his veil—

From his looks alone, Baimu's guess seemed to be confirmed.

"Where did you hear the news? By coincidence? Let me tell you, the people here are dangerous. They're not like the bad guys we've run into before — they won't go easy on you. People can really die here!"

The man said it with deep earnestness.

Seeing the man's anxious expression, Baimu thought for a few seconds, then said, "Is it possible you've got the wrong idea about something?"

"Huh?"

The man froze, his brows knitting deeply. "I've got the wrong idea… Don't tell me you don't even know what they're selling here."

"That's not what I mean. What I mean is, you might be mistaking me for someone else. But unfortunately, I'm a born-and-raised resident of Yellow Iron Town."

Baimu shook his head.

The man's expression changed in an instant. He grabbed the badge at Baimu's waist. "Where did you get this badge?"